Not Human
by jupiterfish
Summary: When the Supreme Court declares that mutants are not humans, they are stripped of all rights and the X-men are split up. Rogue and Ororo find themselves in New Orleans. Will they be able to find their comrades? Will Rogue find love?
1. Default Chapter

1The world didn't respond at all the way Charles Francis Xavier hoped they would.

Everyone- the government, the citizens, his cousins- was clamoring for mutant to be locked up, enslaved, killed.

They're dangerous you see. Not like everyone else. Can't be trusted. To much power.

Remember Animal Farm?

All power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The Supreme Court decided that the mutants didn't have any Constitutional rights. Not human you see. Can't be a citizen if you're not human.

Most of them were rounded up and kept in cells. SHEILD took some of them in, some of them back. Military uses.

Others were enslaved. If you didn't have a military use, they put a chip in your brain and when they sold you, your master got a remote that would activate the power negation field. Can't have anyone getting out of hand, could they?

A few got away, if they paid off the government. Simply marked down as deceased. A few fled to Canada or Mexico or Europe, but mutants weren't allowed past borders. They just got shipped back over to the United States. Some countries began exporting mutants to the U. S.

Magneto was either put in cellular containment fluid or killed. Depends on who you asked and who you knew. Microchips didn't work on him.

Mystique went back to work as an assassin. Finely controlled microchip and various implants throughout her body worked as tracking devices.

Sabretooth and Wolverine went back to being SHIELDS best soldiers. Captain America was still asleep; otherwise he'd have killed himself. What had happened to his country?

Xavier was held in cellular containment fluid like his brother. They might need him.

Jean Grey was kept heavily drugged and under the power of the NSA.

Little Jamie Maddox went into testing. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a whole, lasting army out of one little kid?

Wanda Maximoff was taken and put into the containment fluid. Useful stuff. Might need her probability powers one day.

Katherine Pryde and Kurt Wagner disappeared. They might be enslaved, might be in government, might be dead. Lost track. Might be free.

Hank McCoy was forced to develop new ways to keep mutants under control.

The rest of the New Mutants, the X-men, the Brotherhood, and the Morlocks were enslaved. Heard Spyke got shot for a rebellion. Rumor mill.

Seemed to be more mutants popping up everyday. If you saw one, you called the

SHIELD one-eight-hundred number. They came and picked them up. Most were just thrown into the slave markets.

Jean-Luc LeBeau had paid off some ranked SHEILD agent and his adopted son was marked down as officially deceased. Had blown himself up resisting arrest. It actually came in handy. Fingerprints of a dead mutant meant the police screwed up somewhere and it was easier for Remy to thieve then ever.

On the downside, the Assassins now refused to let the Bella-Remy marriage deal go through. No daughter of Marius's was going to marry a filthy mutie. So the unresolved tension continued to rule in New Orleans.

Remy didn't actually mind so much. As long as he kept his shades on in the clubs he got an equal number of dates and an equal number of phone numbers, which translated into and equal number of women in his bed as before.

He had to spend most of his time in the LeBeau's other house, the one outside the city limits, but them's the brakes for being free. His family didn't care he was a mutant.

The day the army finally tracked down the X-men and the Brotherhood, Remy was watching channel 17 news.

He saw a familiar face, and called Jean Luc.

"Papa- turn on channel 17, now!"

Jean-Luc picked up the remote in his office "What is it, Re- Mon Dieu! Dat's Ororo!"

Remy's eyes stayed glued to the television. SHIELD agents were herding manacled mutants into holding trucks complete with mobile power neutralization fields. Remy watched as Stormy was thrown into a truck, followed by a boy in red sunglasses and another with a long blond mullet. One of the agents cuffed a blue-furred and tailed mutant over the head as he passed, evidently with a derisive comment. The girl behind him began struggling furiously and shouting loud enough for the camera crews to pick up on.

"YA DON'T TOUCH HIM, YA HEAR ME! DON'T YA TOUCH MAH BROTHER EVER AGAIN, YA-" she was cut off as another agent hit her over the head with the butt of his gun and she was knocked to the ground. They bent down, picked her up from the mud, and slung her into the truck. The agents shouted some orders, much more quietly then the girl had, and another, larger blue-furred mutant followed her in. They loading doors of that truck were slammed shut and Remy clicked off the TV.

Tante Mattie's comforting arm went around him.

"Don' you worry, boy. Your papa will get Ororo out and it'll all be fine."

"It ain't right, Tante Mattie. It just isn't right. Dey didn't do not'ing."

Tante Mattie demanded to know what would happen to the mutants when Jean-Luc and the others arrived home.

"I'm not sure yet, Mattie, but I aim to find out," and the Head of the Thieves Guild went to have Henri see if he could hack into the NSA database again.

Rogue lost track of the others after their lovely ride to where ever they were. Hank, Scott, and Kurt had helped her up off the floor, and she had fallen asleep on Kurt's shoulder for a long time.

Jean, Kitty, Xavier, and the rest of the new mutants were in different trucks. She only assumed that the Brotherhood and the Morlocks were as well.

Wolverine and Sabretooth had been taken away by helicopter in adamantium cages.

Now they were being herded out into different buildings. She was in a cell with Ororo Munroe.

The bars were adamantium.

The weeks past slowly. They were tested. The power negation fields were always on. She wore a black jumpsuit with the inscription "F-13" on the back and above her left breast.

The F stood for fatal-her powers could kill you easily.

She was number 13.

Ororo was number 11.

Kurt had been number 12, but she lost track of him.

One day he wasn't at mess.

Hank disappeared after that. She hadn't seen any of the others. The cellblocks were dimly lit in fluorescent lighting, with bulbs flickering and with a guard at either end.

She was beaten for making trouble.

Rogue wanted to know where the others were and what was being done with them. She caused a ruckus, she screamed, she kicked. They kept kicking her when she was down.

It got to be a daily thing.

One day she saw Angel and Forge. Their eyes were dull and glassy.

Havok appeared once, she thought, in the middle of a beating.

After that she stayed in her cell for a while. She was very sick.

Jean-Luc LeBeau sat at the head of a meeting with his household. Henri, Mattie, his assistant Mathieu, Mercy, Henri's fiancé, and Remy were gathered around the table.

"Dey're selling dem," he pronounced.

"De mutants dat the government can find no practical use for are being sold as lab rats or security guards and de like to whoever can pay most, with a power negation shield thrown in for de bargain. Our friend, and previous fellow thief, Ororo Munroe, is up for sale."

Henri tapped the stack of papers he was holding and gestured to them.

"Dis whole operation is very hush-hush. Gov'ment don't want de public to know about it yet. But we have managed to secure a couple o' prime tickets for dis upcomin' mutant auction, and now we just gotta decide who'll be goin' up to Mutant Containment Facility Nebraska."

(A.N. I have nothing against Nebraska. I just figured its mostly farmlands and fields and the government could get land there to build a big old MCF.)

Remy thoughtfully pushed his sunglasses further up on his nose.

"Remy thinks dat he'll go along."

Mattie and Jean-Luc exchanged glances.

"Boy, are you sure this is a good idea?" said Mattie. "It's a Mutant Containment Facility. Dey ain't going to like free mutants walking in and out?"

Remy shrugged and grinned a devil-may-care grin.

"I wear my glasses and nobody'll be any wiser. When do we leave?"

Besides, slipping in and out of government facilities always gave him an adrenaline rush.

A week later Remy was regretting his decision. He, Jean-Luc, and Henri were in Nebraska. The had been issued nondescript, gray folders with descriptions of the various mutant's powers, and were being led through the halls of cells.

He had seen a blond man with wings crumpled loosely in the corner of his cell. He looked cramped and uncomfortable. Two boys- brothers perhaps, were huddled in a cell looking glumly and the floor. A small girl, no older then eight, cowered beneath her blanket. Many of the imprisoned mutants flinched away as footsteps approached and the LeBeau's tour guide- a Captain Javert- told them who resided in each cell.

Ororo knelt beside Rogue's bunk in their cell at the end of the hall. The girl had both blankets wrapped around her and every once in a while she would moan in delirium. They had not given her any antibiotics or medical aid, and her body was already sorely abused from her attempts to fight back.

Rogue's hand was still gloved- she could not bring herself to take them off. She seemed to find comfort in it. Now that gloved hand gripped Storm's tightly as she was lost in fever.

"'Ro?" she asked, her voice hoarse and cracked.

"I am here, Rogue. Try to drink some water. Please."

Rogue accepted a mouthful of water and managed to swallow it.

"Storm, where's Kurt? He said that… uhhh, he said he'd visit me again."

Storm ran a hand over Rogue's forehead.

"I'll bring him next time I see him Rogue. Please, child, try to rest."

There were footsteps approaching. Storm fell silent. One set were loud, firm, and quick, clad in combat books. The others were quieter, two quick, one strided. One in loafers, one in tennis shoes, one in boots. They were at the cell next to them.

"And here we have mutants D-16 and C-17," and the Captain launched into a speech about their powers.

As they moved to stand before Storm and Rogue's cell, Storm chanced a look up. Rogue had fallen silent and her eyes were closed again. She recognized the faces with the Captain. It was the LeBeaus!

"Mutants D-11 and F-13. D-11- classified as dangerous, can control the weather. F-13 appears to have some sort of absorption power, but we have not fully tested it, as it appears to be very harmful to the test subjects."

The Captain glared in a Rogue's still form.

"Isn't she up yet?"

Ororo glared evilly at the man. "Perhaps," she said, her voice like cold steel, "Rogue would be quicker in recovering if she hadn't been beaten quite as often, or if the cells were kept a little warmer, or if we were given enough water to get her rehydrated, or even- goddess forbid- a doctor was called in to prescribe a treatment or medication, Captain Javert."

"You beat dem?" Jean-Luc questioned.

"When they make trouble, as F-13 does quite frequently, there is little else to do. She did not respond to other punishments"- Ororo snorted, but it was drowned out by a hacking cough from Rogue- "and we had no choice. Now, gentlemen, have you made your decisions?"

The three LeBeaus exchanged glances.

"Give us a minute alone to discuss dis, monsieur. We will call you when we have reached our decision."

Captain Javert pursed his lips and stalked off to the other end of the corridor, where some other bidders were beginning their tour.

Storm looked up again from Rogue.

"Hello, Ororo," said Jean-Luc and Henri.

"Hey Stormy," said Remy.

"Hello," she replied. "And what, by the goddess, are you doing here?"

Jean-Luc crouched down so he was level with the kneeling Storm. "De mutants dey can't find no use for are being sold t' de highest bidder. Remy saw you being taken on the news and we decided to come pick you up."

"I cannot leave the others."

"Hate to tell you, but many of them are already gone. And yo' don' have much of a choice, _femme._ We get you out, and its back to N'Awlins and good ole' Cajun cooking. How's that, 'Ro?"

Storm again looked down at the mumbling girl.

"You must bring her along," she said firmly.

"Ororo, we didn't come here to pick up a whole bunch of mutant slaves to train as thieves. We came here to pick up an old friend who was in a jam," protested Jean-Luc. "You do not understand. They haven't yet figured out the potential of her powers yet- probably because Charles wiped his files before they took us. This girl has the potential to be the next Captain America. She has the potential to become everything humans fear about mutants if she falls into the wrong hands. And she will die if I leave her here alone."

Rogue half-turned over and settled back into the pillow.

"Captain 'merica's still in his box," she mumbled. "Can't wake up. 'm not Captain 'merica."

"Shh, child. Go back to sleep," Storm whispered soothingly. "Hush now."

"Come on, Jean-Luc," said Remy. "We can' jus' let de _fille_ die."  
Jean-Luc sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and nodded. "Henri, get dat man back here."

Captain Javert was delighted to get Rogue off his hands. He explained to the LeBeaus that activating a chip already implanted in their brains could shut off their powers. Remy drummed a tattoo into the arm of his chair. This place gave him a severe case of the willies.

Captain Javert accompanied the LeBeaus out to their jet from the administrations building. There were several other jets on the tarmac.

"Who're the other bidders?" asked Jean-Luc.

"Well," said the captain, "Several of them are representatives of the Hellfire Club, interested in using muties as guards for the various mansions. There is also a Mr. Essex, a geneticist, I believe, and a few others aside from them. Ahh, here comes the transport."

A truck similar to the ones Remy had seen on television was approaching them from the prison building. He and Henri boarded the Lear jet while Jean-Luc continued talking to Javert.

"Where're we supposed t' put de sick one?" asked Henri.

Remy shrugged expressively. "We'll let Stormy and Pere handled that," he said, and went to wake up Olivier, the pilot.

Storm climbed out of the back of the truck and onto the dusty runway. One of the guards lifted Rogue out and stood behind Javert, waiting for orders. The other secured Ororo's hands behind her back. Jean-Luc finished up his discussion with Javert and shook his hand.

"It was nice doing business wit' you. Boys! Come get dese two in the jet."

"Cain't she walk?" Remy asked of the guard holding Rogue, checking his sunglasses.

"No," said Bert, the guard, and Remy took her and headed back into the jet where Henri, Ororo, and Olivier were waiting. Rogue stirred in his arms and her eyes cracked open, just a slit of green.

"Logan?" she whispered.

"_Non, petite,"_ he said. "Dis be Remy."

"Oh. Where's Logan?" she asked as he ducked into the jet.

"Remy don' know. Where should I put her, 'Ro?"

"Over here," Storm said, gesturing to the seat beside her

"Ya smell like the south, Remy," said Rogue as he set her down.

Jean-Luc boarded the plane, shut the hatch, and took his seat. Storm buckled Rogue up and covered her with a blanket Henri had brought her. She did not wake again until they reached New Orleans.

Mattie was initially overjoyed to see Ororo alive and then horrified to see the state Rogue was in. She hustled Remy, still carrying Rogue, to the second floor where there was a room that served as a medbay. She stuck a thermometer in Rogue's mouth then bustled around the room getting supplies.

"103.6! Good lord, Ororo, how long has this child been sick?" Mattie said.

"Truly, I am not sure. I do not even know how long we were in that place. But she has been beaten almost since the beginning and she's had to have been like this at least a week.

"We got to bring her fever down," Mattie said. "It's a miracle she's still alive as it is. Get out de way, Remy, and go get some blankets from the cupboard. Henri, run a cold bath. Move! Yo' want her ta die?"

End chapter one

Rogue's still gloved hands clenched the blankets when she started to truly wake up. Where was she? It smelled to clean to be the facility again, and she knew she hadn't dreamed that. She was sore, but now her hurts were bandaged. Caustiously, she opened her eyes. The lights were off and it was dark outside the window. There were city lights not far off, but she determined they had to be some miles outside of its suburbs. It was dark- probably an hour or so after midnight.

"Storm?" she tried to whisper. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy. She pushed herself up against the pillows, and picked up a glass from beside the bed. She sniffed it. Seemed ok.

After downing the water, Rogue swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Hello?" she tried again. Her voice sounded a bit better this time.

"Storm? Kurt?" a bit louder. She slid off the bed and put her feet on the floor. It made her dizzy, and, clutching the bedrail, barely managed to hold herself up. She padded towards the door and paused, leaning against the door jam for support.

Remy was going back to bed after a quick snack of Mattie's leftover jambalaya, before Henri could get his greedy mitts on it. His bedroom was on the third floor, so he thought he should check on the patient, real quick, before heading up. She had been out almost three days, and he had promised Stormy, after badgering her to get some sleep, he would keep an eye on her.

Rounding the corner, he was surprised to see her leaning in the doorframe, breathing slowly.

"Yo' supposed to be in bed, _fille._ Tante's gonna have my head if she t'inks Remy done an' let yo' go wandering around."

"Where's Storm? An' where am Ah?"

"She's at de oder end o' de hall. C'mon, let me get yo' back inta bed."

"Don't touch meh!"

"Dere is no way yo' gonna be able to make it back across dat room on ya own. Stop strugglin'."

He went to pick her up and she stumbled back, and fell on her backside.

"Please, it'll hurt if you touch mah skin."

Remy realized then that she didn't know they had turned off her mutation to give her some medical attention, and, from what Stormy had said, she wouldn't like not knowing something like that. He decided Jean-Luc could deal with it in the morning.

"It'll be fine, _chere._ Yo've got dose gloves on, and Remy's wearing his shirt. I won' touch yo' skin."

"Barely," she said.

Remy looked down. Ok, it was a wife beater. At least it was something. But she wasn't about to let him near her with that much skin exposed.

Rogue watched as he went around her and pulled a blanket from the edge of her bed. He brought it back over to her, spread it, and wrapped it around her. Then he picked her up.

"No worries, see, _cherie?_ Remy's got it all under control."

"Hmph."

Laying Rogue down on the bed, he asked if she wanted a glass of water or something before he left.

"Where am I?"

"In N'Awlins, wit some old friends of Stormy's. Remy Lebeau at yo' service."

"Ah'm Rogue. Thanks."

"Pleasure ta help de lady out. Go on back to sleep, Rogue. I'll bring Stormy along in the mornin'."

"Night, Remy," she yawned.

He made sure she was asleep before heading up to his own room.


	2. No one's Posession

1Remy staggered downstairs the next morning at eight thirty, which was early for him. He poured himself coffee, drained it, and poured another. Then he sat down at the table with Jean-Luc, Henri, Mercy, and Storm. Mattie was frying eggs at the stove.

After a few more sips of coffee, the sleep cleared from his eyes and he let out a resounding yawn.

"Bonjour, all."

"'Ello, Remy."

"Morning, Remy."

"Watch dat coffee, Rem!"

"Help me serve this up, boy."

Remy pushed himself away from the table and took the full plates from his Tante. As he was eating, he remembered what happened last night.

"Dat Rogue_ femme_ woke up."

Storm looked up sharply, the fork halfway to her mouth.

"When, just now?"

"Naw, last night I was headed up after a midnight snack-"

"Remy, did yo' eat my jambalaya?"

"After a midnight snack an' outta de goodness o' my heart I wen' ta check on her an' der she was, near collapse, askin' me where she was and where were you, so I told her and put her back to bed.. She don' know her powers're turned off, dough."

Storm was up and out the door. Mattie hustled the King and Prince of Thieves out after her.

"Come on Jean-Luc, and you too, Remy, another familiar face will be good for her. We best check on her right now."

Henri checked the giant fridge, and turned to Mercy.

"Il a mange3 mon jambalaya!" and burst into tears.

On the next floor, Rogue was just starting to wake up. The room looked a lot different in the sunlight. It was not like the medlab at home, in all stainless steal and white. The walls were green, and the furniture was white, but aside from the far side where there were sinks and some cabinets, it looked more or less like a guest room. She sat up, and heard footsteps in the hall.

"Hello, Rogue," said Storm. "I'm happy to see you awake. I've been so worried."

Rogue hesitantly returned the hug, before breaking away so quickly. Why was Storm being so- so careless about her skin?

"Storm, Ah don't understand. What's goin' on? How'd we get outta that place? Where is everybody?"

"Hold on dere, liddle one. Lemme give yo' a quick check up b'fore dey get you all excited. Remy, run downstairs and ask Mercy if we can have some clothes o' hers for de _fille_. Go on, get."

Mattie checked her blood pressure, her temperature, her eyes, everything; had her walk around the room a bit to clear her head, and gave her another glass of water while Jean-Luc and Ororo consulted in the corner. Remy returned with the clothes, and Rogue changed into the jeans (a little big) and the black sweatshirt in the small bathroom. She had to roll up the jeans to walk in them. Mercy must have been tall.

"Now. What's goin' on, Storm?"

"You had better lie down."

It was uncomfortably silent for a moment. Unexpectedly, Jean-Luc broke it.

"My name is Jean-Luc Lebeau. Dis is my house, an' yo' been here about t'ree days now. When we came outta dat mutant prison, yo' were real sick. Dijou remember any o' dis?"

"Ah remember that prison place. They put things in our heads so we couldn't get out. People started disappearing, and the guards... the guards started hittin' meh when Ah wanted to know where they went. An' one day Ah was sick at mess. That's all Ah remember."

"You remember the Supreme Court's descision?"

"Yeah. _Leech v. New York._ O' course, if them Hydra people hadn't attacked Washington, nobody'd know about mutants."

"After the government started taking mutants into custody, they decided to sell off the ones they could not use. I've known the Lebeaus for quite some time. Apparently, they saw me on the news and came to get me. I persuaded them to bring you along as well."

"Storm, did you say sell?"

"Yes."

Rogue began to breathe quicker. "So what, we're slaves? Not even. Slavery was outlawed. We're not human anymore. They sold us like cattle."

"Rogue, calm down. Calm down, child. We are nobody's slaves. And we are still human. A court can't take our humanity from us. It's ok. It's ok."

"No, it's not ok. They can't do this."

"They already have, child."

"Ah'm not anyone's posession!"

"Whoa, chere. We don' even t'ink we own you. Dat money was jes' a- a ransom, ta get you outta dere. We don' own you."

Rogue began calming down. "Storm, what happened to everybody else?"

She shook her head. "I do not know. The Lebeaus got us out, but there were few of us left by then."

"So we don't know where everybody else is? Kurt? Logan? The Brotherhood? The newbies? No one?"

"We will help de two of yo' find yo' comrades, when we can, Rogue. I'm sorry we could not get anyone else out." Jean-Luc checked his watch. "I have some t'ings to take care of. Storm, Henri and some o' de oders are goin' ta get you started on your search. Remy- yo' gonna watch out fo' Rogue for us. Explain some t'ings. Yo' gonna have ta lay low for awhile anyway, after dat museum stunt yo' pulled."

Tante Mattie fluffed the pillows before heading out. "Yo' recovered real quick, dat's good. Mebbe tomorrow we'll let Remy take you shoppin'. Mercy's stuff is to big for yo'. Behave yo'self, Remy. I'll be up soon with some food for yo', Rogue."

Remy pulled a chair over to Rogue's bedside, and reached into his jean's pocket for some cards, and adjusted his sunglasses. He began shuffling.

"So, _petite._ What do yo' wanna know?"

A/N: Sorry this one's so short guys, but I just had to churn out another chapter. And I'm still working on how the whole "welcome to the theives guild!" is going down.

A bit on the setting of this story: pre-Day of Reckoning.

It's basically just after Wanda gets out of the asylum. How Rogue knows Kurt is her brother and etcetera will be explained, but mutants were revealed in an attack on Washington D. C. By Hydra, a terrorist organization, (with X-23, but she won't come in, until later, perhaps), before Magneto could get his crew together. Then our dear Mrs. And Dorian Leech faced some discrimination problems, and that went to the Supreme Court. Never fear, all will be explained...

I think.

And my dear reviewers!

Simba317, bored247, Roguegal, grenwich, and enchanted light- thank you! Also thanks to my friends moth and empress for reading it and threatening me so I wouldn't delete it.

Don't worry- next one will be longer.


	3. It's like the Mafia

1Grr... I had this chapter half way done and then my disk goes berserk on me and deletes it! I was full of rage for a day, but now I'm back on track. Also: what do you think of the accents? Am I overdoing them or under- doing them or is Remy's not enough? More French will probably be used after I find my French notebook (), and this bit's still rocky. I have a grand master plan calling for things from all over Marvelverse, but that comes later. First we have to get through the nitty gritty (don't worry, the Romy will be, hopefully, a constant. Romy fluff is the best stuff EVER).

Rogue regarded the young man before her, fiddling with his sunglasses, and thought. They had no idea were the others were. She didn't remember leaving the MCF. She didn't remember Jean-Luc or Mattie. This Remy person she remember carrying her back to bed, like a cliched knight in shining armor. This whole situation, though... something wasn't clicking.

"Ah don't get this. So you're old friends of Storm. How did ya have enough money to ransom two mutant prisoners? It must have cost a fortune. And how do ya know Storm? How didja find her?"

Remy stopped shuffling and began to lay out a game of solitaire. The Ace of Spades came up immediatly as he went through the deck.

"Well, I myself dun' really know Stormy dat well. I only ac'ually met her a few time, when she visited and she dun' visit often. Bete Pere's gotta picture of her, in his office, so Remy jes' got used ta seeing her. You know anyt'ing about Stormy's past?"

"Yeah- her parents died, leaving her and her sister alone in Cairo. Someone at th' American Embassy found 'em wandering the streets, got them to America and inta foster care. Ororo went back to Africa and her mutation manifested in Kenya, and a few years after that, she came back to the States to go to college, and that's where she met the Professah. Professah Xavier is our leader."

Remy put the seven of diamonds he was holding onto the eight of spades, moved a row, and flipped a card to reveal the last Ace he needed, the Ace of Hearts.

"Yeah, Stormy filled us in on awl dat while yo' was out. De story's missin' a few bits, dough. While she was on da streets, Stormy was runnin' wit a gang o' pickpockets, ta feed her an' her liddle sister. Pappa- dat's Jean-Luc, he's _mon pere_, met her in one o' de safe houses. When he found out she was American, it was him dat got dem over here. Dey stayed in touch."

"But how did you get ta us? How did you have the money ta ransom us? This place- you LeBeaus are well off, an' all, but this just ain't commin' tagether! An' why are you so friendly ta mutants anyway?"

"Well, _ma chere-_ dun' move, yo' gonna knock Remy's game over an' he's winnin'. We LeBeaus are de leaders of a secret underground criminal organization known as de Thieves Guild. On second thought, mebbe I shouldn' o' told you dat."

Rogue's eyes widened and she seemed torn between laughing or thinking she was about ta be killed.

Remy grinned at her before looking back down to his game. "Relax, _petite,_ Remy's been aut'orized ta tell you dis. Jean-Luc, he figures dat yo' and 'Ro are gonna be wit us for a while, so why not tell yo'? Hey, if yo' any good, he might let you go out on a heist or two. 'M serious, dough. De LeBeau's are de leaders of de Thieves Guild, have been for an age and an age."

"Once upon a time, o' so de legend goes, in some lost civilization, dere were seven Guilds founded by dis Lady named Candra. Candra's de Benefactress o' de Guilds, an' she's an immortal mutant. Now, five o' de Guild's have been lost to us, even dere names- wheder dey displeased Candra, 'o jes' died out because o' lack o' numbers, o' were killed, no one knows. But dere's only been de two Guilds since at least de foundin' o de Roman Republic, in when? Around 486 BC? Jean-Luc has de Guild historian, Diego, crazy old coot, 'e t'inks Remy's de devil hisself, trying ta track down de oder five Guilds, and so far he t'inks dat mebbe one o' de oder Guilds was a Warriors Guild, but no one knows fo' sure. So, de Thieves have stayed around, and nowadays dere's pockets o' us all around de world. It's kinda like a Mafia- united under Candra, since we all gotta pay our dues ta her, cooperatin' but we more o' less keep to ourselves. De most powerful and proficient bunch o' Thieves get der leader made de Head o' De Thieves Guild, and right now dat's Jean-Luc. N'Awlins is the Thieves Guild base for de Eastern United States. He runs us jes' like de Mafia too, stays underground, and de right people know how to contact us. Corporate espionage, art theft, pickpocketin', de Theives Guild does it all. Only we don' kill no one."

Rogue had relaxed by now, and was content to listen to Remy's voice. It was low, and a bit rough, and full of flavor. She thought it was amusing how his eye brows quirked when he was thinking aloud, and how he grinned with pride when he mentioned the Thieves Guild.

"That's good."

"Naw, it ain't," Remy was fiddling with his sunglasses again. "Dat's where de oder Guild comes in. It's de Assassins Guild, and dey hate our guts. De problem is, de Assassins headquarters in N'Awlins, too, so we allays buttin' heads. No one knows where de feud started, but it's supposed ta have somet'ing ta do wit Candra's gifts."

"Candra- she founded your Guilds, she's an immortal mutant, and she gives you gifts?"

"Yeah, well, de Assassins, she gives de leader and some of his buddies powers- like mutant powers. But de Theives- our leaders get de Elixer o' Life. It keeps our leaders alive fo' a long, long time, until de Elixer cain't keep de body runnin' no more. Dey say de oldest Guild Master was over four hundred when he finally kicked it."

Remy put the King of Diamonds down and began reshuffling his deck.

"As to how we found out about you- Remy saw Stormy on de news. Henri hacked a few websites and found out where you was. As to de mutant t'ing, we just used to dem. Assassins loathe mutants, dough. Cain't figure out why, Candra's a mutant. But dat's why de last peace contract fell t'rough. Jean-Luc had it worked out dat I was supposed ta marry Belladonna, dat's de leader o' de Assassins Guild's daughter, but after de Supreme Court made dere descision, Marius decided his daughter wasn't marrying no' mutie."

"You were gonna marry Belladonna, but... why'd he call it off?"

"Didn' Stormy tell you? Remy's a mutant too." He set the cards down, and went to the window, pulling down the shades.

"Don' scream o' not'ing," Remy said. Rogue tensed, and Remy removed his sunglasses, blinked, then opened them wide so he could see.

Rogue inspected him carefully. His eyes were black where most peoples were white, and the irises were a deep red. Remy himself looked like he was waiting for her to start shrieking in terror, or fainting, or perhaps both.

"Is- is that it? Is your mutation just physical?"

"What? Oh, non. Here, lemme find de joker, I don' wanna ruin anoder deck o' cards."

He held it up, and the card began to glow pink. Tossing it across the room, it exploded with a small BOOM! and left scorch marks on the floor. "Mattie's gonna have my head for dat."

"Why didn't you say you were a mutant earlier?"

Remy shrugged. "Most people freak out. Dat's why Diego t'inks I'm de devil- cause o' my eyes. People used ta call me de Diable Blanc, de white devil. Say Remy's got demon eyes."

"Ah don't think that ya have demon eyes. Kurt has demon eyes- there all yellow and they glow. Your eyes- they're more like charcoal, or a fire when it's dying down, but still hot. Like if you touch the red part, you'll get burnt."

"Why, t'anks, _chere. _ Here, let's start again. _Je m'appelle_ Remy Etienne LeBeau. When I'm workin', dey call me Gambit. I'm a mutant and I can make t'ings explode."

Rogue didn't take his hand. "Mah name's Rogue, an' if my skin touches yours, Ah'll knock you out, and absorb your mem'ries an' your mutation because Ah cain't control it."

Remy's eyebrows quirked again.

"Didn' dey tell you, _chere? _You're mutation's turned off now. Dey did it at de lab. Your harmless."

"They _what?" _

huh huh...whoops, sorry guys. On first draft wrote "Cassandra" instead of "Candra" and then when I went back for research on...something that will happen later I realized my horrible mistake. And also thanks to BananaPanda, who pointed that out. Hopefully it will remind me to double check on stuff before I upload next time...

So glad your all loving the story!


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